A Deadly Trade
by Shaelynn Stark
Summary: Just a little Clexy fic based off of a bizarre dream I had the other night during a major thunderstorm. Clark & Kal split and Kal tries to kill Lex when Clark tries to stop him. What will happen when Lex has to come to Clark's rescue? Will dance for re


**A Deadly Trade**

**Disclaimer:**  
I own nothing with the exception of the ideas expressed in this fic...Even that I'm not too sure about...

**Rating:**  
T (just to be safe) for themes/content (& language)

**Genre:**  
Drama/Romance

**Pairing:**  
Clex

* * *

Darkness. All Clark could see when he first opened his eyes was sheer darkness. Slowly, his fogged mind cleared and realized what was happening and where he was. He knew he'd been bound and gagged in his own storm cellar. He couldn't recall how, but he remembered Kal had finally found a way to completely sever himself from Clark. While Clark was grateful to be rid of the menace, he knew this day would come and Kal would try to take over his life-antagonizing his friends and everyone he loved. _Lex..._Clark remembered that Kal had said he would take out everyone he cared about, starting with the one person Clark cared about above all else. He knew he had to get to the mansion and warn Lex, though he had no clue what the hell he'd tell him when he got there. Clark just knew he had to get there before Kal did. _Assuming he hasn't already beaten me to it...I just hope I can get there in time to save Lex from whatever the hell Kal has in store for him..._He thought to himself as he quickly focused all of his energy into breaking the restraints binding his wrists. Clark could feel his strength returning to normal as he felt the cold metal around his wrists snap. Reaching down to his ankles, he grabbed onto the lock on the chains. Crushing it effortlessly in the palm of his hand, he quickly cleared the chains from his feet and rose to speed off to the mansion.

Silently sliding to a halt right outside the door to Lex's office, what Clark saw horrified him. Kal had Lex up against the wall, holding him up by the throat. Quickly snapping back to his senses, Clark ran in shouting "Stop!" Turning to see his best friend come running into his office...again...Lex gasped out "Clark?" _God, Lex...I'll kill the little bastard!..._Clark thought to himself as Kal turned to look in his direction. "Well, well, well...Seems I underestimated our little farmboy here, haven't I?...Then again, Clark, we all know you're not just your average run a the mill farmboy, right?" Watching as Lex finally lost consciousness as Kal finally dropped him to the floor and rounded on Clark, Clark growled at Kal "Leave him alone..." Smirking evilly, Kal retorted "Hey, look...Don't get pissed at me for having the balls to do something you never could...He would've only gotten in my way and tried to stop me...He was an obstacle that needed to be dealt with..." From the sound of Kal's words, Clark knew Kal was far from finished with Lex. The mere _thought _of what Kal intended to do with Lex horrified Clark. Shaking all the thoughts from his head, Clark replied "Listen...Do whatever you want with me...Just please...Don't hurt Lex..."

Right about now, Kal could sense Lex coming around. Rounding on Lex, Kal taunted "Did you hear that, Luthor...Kent here's willing to die just so I won't hurt _you_...How touching...And yet sickening..." Lex _had _heard Clark's words. He just couldn't believe it. _How could someone as pure and innocent as Clark be willing to go to such lengths for someone as tainted as me?..._Lex thought to himself, trying to wrap his mind around Clark's words. He was soon snapped out of his train of thought when he saw Kal strike Clark hard across the head and as Clark hit the ground hard. Lex then noticed a piece of green meteor rock in Kal's hand. Before he could figure out what was going on, Lex watched as Kal continued to beat Clark to a bloody pulp. _Clark..._Lex thought to himself as the man he'd fallen for so long ago was being beaten within an inch of his life.

"Listen, Kent...If you were smart, you'd get the hell outta here and not stand in my way...I'll kill you _and _you're pathetic little friend over there if I have to..." Kal hissed at Clark as Clark was fighting to maintain consciousness. Lex cursed himself for just standing on the sidelines, watching as Clark was being slowly and painfully murdered right in front of him. _Damn it!...I've got to do something...But what?..._Lex thought to himself. Finally, it struck him. He knew how he could save Clark.

Noticing the confused look in Clark's pained eyes, Kal laughed evilly as he answered Clark's unasked question. "What?...You thought that just because you're so weak you can't even get _near_ Kryptonite, that I'll have the same pathetic reaction?...I don't think so...I'm a bit tougher than that...You'd have to break through my _impenetrable _skin to affect someone as tough as me..." Kal hissed, placing emphasis on the word 'impenetrable'. Lex smirked to himself triumphantly as he silently stalked over to where Kal had somehow dropped the meteor fragment in his struggle with Clark. _What the hell am I doing?..._Lex thought to himself, his sense of self-preservation kicking into overdrive. One more sideways glance at Clark's now unconscious form gave him all the strength he needed to carry out his plan to save the one person he truly cared about.

What Kal didn't know was that while taunting Clark, he had inadvertently signed his own death warrant. Stalking up behind him, Lex grabbed the collar of Kal's jet black leather jacket, spinning him around to face him. A gleam of anger Lex had never previously allowed to reach the surface, now glowed darkly in his icy blue eyes which he narrowed at Kal threateningly. "You...stay the hell...away from him..." Lex growled, his voice quavering ever so slightly with building emotions. Grinning casually, Kal retorted "Or what?...You'll kill me?" Pausing briefly to laugh at the mere thought, Kal continued "I'd love to see you try, Luthor. You're just a human. You don't stand a chance against me."

Without warning, Lex shifted the Kryptonite in his hand to the point where the sharpest tip was facing outward and struck Kal hard across the face, leaving a large gash across his cheek. Lex smirked in sadistic satisfaction as he watched the the thick crimson liquid creep out of the fresh opening in the skin. Before Kal could retaliate, Lex raised his his fist yet again and struck Kal again-even harder if at all possible-and fought back a laugh as Kal fell to the floor, much like Clark had done earlier. Lex seemed to be gaining more and more confidence throughout the struggle as he continued to beat Kal in the same manner as Kal had done to Clark just moments ago. Only once he was satisfied that Kal was finally dead, which he'd checked _thoroughly _several times, Lex recalled the effect the Kryptonite had had on Clark, Lex noted the open window and threw the green rock away from it like it'd bit him.

Once he'd disposed of the Kryptonite, Lex hurried over to Clark and knelt down by his side. Checking for a pulse and breathing, Lex sighed a sigh of relief once he'd discovered both were returning to normal. Finally, Clark's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Clark?" Lex asked cautiously. "Clark, can you hear me?" "Lex?..." Came Clark's groggy response. _Thank God..._Lex thought to himself, offering Clark a hand and helping him to stand.

Turning to see Kal lying unmoving on the floor near his former position, Clark looked back at Lex-genuine confusion shining through beautiful green orbs-as he asked "Lex...What happened?" Sighing slightly, Lex replied "Well, I was sorta hoping you could tell me...First you come barging in here and shove me up the wall by my throat, strangling me, and then you come running in to pull...Whoever the hell that was off of me..." Clark sighed slightly, knowing he'd have to tell Lex the truth. After all, he _did _have a right to know. But, how exactly would he go about telling him. Just say 'Yeah, I'm an alien from Krypton and that guy was actually my alter ego who suddenly figured out how to sever us completely...'? Somehow, Clark didn't exactly think that would go over well. He ventured a sideways glance at Lex who was waiting patiently for an answer. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Clark reminded himself _Now or never...Might as well get it over and done with..._Clark sighed as he began explaining the events that had transpired that afternoon.

"Lex...I'm not exactly from around here...And not just Smallville...I'm not even from this _planet_...I'm from a planet called Krypton and my parents sent me here in that meteor shower to protect me during the destruction of my planet...My biological father, Jor-El, wants me to become this conquerer and since I refused, I guess that's why helped 'Kal'..." Clark paused for a moment to indicate the man on the floor who would pass easily as his identical twin and continued "...to separate from me entirely so that he could go on to fulfill my father's wishes after I had refused...And the green meteor rock...It makes me sick and can kill me if I'm exposed to it for more than a period of a couple minutes..." Sighing, Clark added "...I wanted to tell you all of this sooner but I was afraid that you'd hate me and want nothing more to do with me..."

Lex and Clark just stood there for a moment, a tense and slightly awkward silence mounting between them. Clark was dying for Lex to say something, _any_thing. Lex had just stood there the entire time, listening silently and intently, almost seeming to hang off of every word Clark spoke. Finally, Lex replied softly "I don't hate you..." Clark released a sigh of relief at the news as Lex continued "I've known for a while...Well, about some of it...Clark, I just wanted you to trust me." Feeling guilty for not having told Lex the truth sooner, Clark replied "I'm sorry, Lex...I've always trusted you and _will _always trust you...I was just so afraid of losing you as a friend..." Smirking ever so slightly, Lex simply replied "That would never happen." Clark had no response for that, so instead, he just smiled in the pure and innocent way that only he could.

Suddenly, Clark remembered that he had been unconscious when Kal had been taken down. _Wait a minute, if _I _didn't take him down...Then, that only leaves...Lex..._Clark thought to himself when he realized what had happened and shivered invisibly with the fear of what could have happened. "Lex...You didn't try to fight...'Kal'...Yourself, did you?" He asked, praying to whatever deity may have been listening that his suspicions were wrong for once. Not thinking about what reaction Clark would have to the news, Lex explained "Well, after I heard him describe his weakness, I grabbed the meteor rock he'd been using to beat you and I...'returned the favor'..." Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lex willing to take someone on who could have very easily killed him just to protect him. Then, he began to think of all the other possible outcomes. "Lex, what were you thinking?...You could have been seriously hurt..." Clark replied. "...Or worse..." He finished in an almost silent whisper, thick with emotion.

Lex could see Clark's clear concern for him written in his pure green eyes. Resting a hand gently on Clark's shoulder, Lex replied "Clark, I did it for you...And I'd do it again if I had to...Clark, I couldn't just sit idly by while that man beat you within an inch of your life..." Lex had to fight back the stinging in his icy blue eyes as thoughts of what might have happened had he not taken on Kal played through his head. Clark simply covered the hand on his shoulder with his own, ignoring the almost electric shock waves it sent racing down his spine as he replied "Well...The important thing is that you're okay..." Clark cursed himself for allowing Lex to see him in one of his few moments of vulnerability. Now, Clark was the one fighting back the tears as he added "Lex...If anything had happened to you because of me...I could never live with myself..."

Releasing Lex's hand, Clark gently pulled Lex into a warm and much needed embrace. Lex closed his eyes as he bathed in the security of the embrace, feeling invincible in Clark's arms. Clark simply embraced the feeling of Lex in his arms, wanting to keep him there forever and to protect him from the world. Finally pulling away from the embrace, Clark turned to what was left of Kal and stated "Just one more thing..." Walking over to where Kal lay motionless on the floor, Clark reached out and grabbed hold of Kal's throat, crushing it effortlessly in the palm of his hand. As Clark rose and made to leave, Lex stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Clark, wait..." Turning, curiously, to see what Lex had to say, Clark asked "What is it, Lex?" Releasing a breath he hadn't even known that he'd been holding, Lex replied "Clark, there's one more thing I wanted to tell you..." Nodding his head to signal for Lex to continue, Clark waited patiently to hear what Lex wanted to tell him. "I love you..." Lex finally confessed in a whisper so soft, even Clark couldn't quite hear it. "I'm sorry?..." Clark asked, indicating he hadn't heard Lex. "I love you..." Lex repeated, this time loud enough for Clark to hear it. Clark couldn't believe it. _I must've misunderstood him...Lex Luthor can't possibly be in love with me...Could he?...Could he actually return my feelings for him?..._Clark was just dumbstruck. He couldn't believe what he was hearing as Lex continued on "I've had feelings for you ever since we met...Then, I found out you had a thing for Lana...But, my feelings have only ever grown stronger for you, Clark Kent..."

Clark just stood there a moment, in shocked silence, as he tried to wrap his mind around what Lex was saying. This was the happiest Clark remembered being in a long time. "I understand if you don't feel the same, Clark...I just felt that you had a right to know..." Lex finished, mentally preparing himself for the rejection he thought was imminent. Finally, Clark looked up at Lex with a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he replied "I love you, too, Lex..." Now, it was Lex's turn to be dumbstruck. This figure of perfection, purity, and innocence-the beautiful creature before him, was in love with him. _I don't believe it...I thought he only had eyes for Lana... _"You're right, I _did _have feelings for Lana but the moment I met you...Lana didn't seem to matter as much...I still care about her as a friend but what I've felt for you these past couple of years...My feelings for her could never have compared to them...I just never acted on them because, I didn't think you could possibly feel the same..." Looking up, Lex searched Clark's eyes for any sign that this was all just some sort of sick joke but all he was love, sincerity, and gentle compassion and caring. Lex smiled softly as he asked "So...What now?"

Chuckling lightly, Clark replied lovingly "Now, I'm going to kiss you..." True to his word, Clark gently pressed his lips to Lex's and kissed him gently, nibbling softly on Lex's bottom lip, asking permission to enter. Lex was more than happy to oblige. He savored the feeling of Clark exploring his mouth with his tongue and didn't even care when the younger man quickly gained dominance. He was pleasantly surprised when Clark turned so that he had Lex pressed up against the wall and continued devouring his mouth. Finally, Clark pulled away gently so that they could both breathe. Clark gently caressed Lex's surprisingly soft cheek, cherishing the feel of his skin upon his own.

Leaning forward, Clark whispered softly in Lex's ear "I love you more than you'll ever know..." The feel of Clark's breath against his skin gave Lex chills. Lex just inclined his head forward to press his forehead against Clark's as he replied "I love you, too, Clark..." With that, Clark smiled and kissed Lex gently on the lips once again.

* * *

_Author's Note:_  
I apologize for this being so short and for it not being very realistic. This was just done based off of a dream I had the other night during a major thunderstorm and it's been bugging me so I figured _Why not make a fic out of this?..._So, love it, hate it...Drop me a review. However, be warned flames will be used for the bonfire at my "sister", Jaci's surprise graduation party!  



End file.
